


The Ordinary Life of the Morrisons

by Cryptid1



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bastion's a pitbull, Dad: 76, Domestic, F/M, Implied ADHD Lena, Implied OCD Satya, Mom Mercy, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-22 23:18:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7457599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptid1/pseuds/Cryptid1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Morrison, former soldier for the U.S. Army. Through his many years in the military, Jack faced many hardships and challenges. And now, he's facing one of the biggest challenges of his life... being a stay-at-home father for his four children. Not that he doesn't love every second of it, but it sure is one hell of a job. Not sure why I mostly described Jack in this though, as this is about the whole family in general.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet the Morrisons

The light of the early morning sun glared through the window, shining right into Jack's eyes. With a subconscious grunt, he rolled over to face the other direction. He began to go back into his peaceful slumber... that is, until the electronic ringing coming from the bedside table told him otherwise.

Groaning lazily, he turns back over and slams his hand down on the snooze button.

 _'Why did I set the alarm again?'_ he tried to remember. Being half-asleep made it hard to remember anything but the usual.

He was able to pick up on the rustling of the sheets next to him, and then the feeling of a hand running over the back of his head.

"Good morning, _schätzelein_." he heard his wife, Angela, say tiredly as she pulled herself up against his back.

"Good morning." He said with a yawn, turning over to face Angela. God, he could never get over how beautiful his wife was.

"Well, we better get up soon. I need to get ready for work, and _you_ ," she said, lightly poking Jack on the nose at the last word, "need to go get your children ready for their first day back to school."

' _Oh, right. That's why I set the alarm._ '

 "Yeah, guess I should. But first..." Jack cups Angela's cheek as he leans in and presses his lips against her own. It's nothing much, just a short and sweet kiss to start off their morning. Breaking away from the kiss, the two climb out from under the sheets. Angela grabs her clothes and takes them with her into the bathroom, while Jack puts his clothes on before setting off to rally up the kids.

However, none of their children were biologically their own. Early on in their marriage, the couple had learned of Angela's inability to conceive children. So, they turned to adoption. And as it turned out, they adopted four children from just one orphanage, all on the same day. They were Lúcio, who was 7 years old at the time, Mei, 6 years old, Lena, who was 5 years old, and Hana, 3 years old. Since they were all adopted on the same day, the couple decided to make all four of their birthdays on that fateful day, November 13th.

' _Alright, first off, Lúcio._ '

Lúcio, now 16, was the oldest of the four children, and the only boy. Ever since they had met him, he had been a complete sweetheart. Not that all of the children hadn't been, but Lúcio especially had been very kind and helpful to everyone in the family. Even after being in the household for only a little more than a week, he was always volunteering to help his adoptive parents with household work, a behavior that hasn't gone away since. It should also be noted that Lúcio  _loved_ music. Heck, there probably wasn't a kind of music he didn't like, even though his favorite genre was electronica. He had even been starting to try and make his own, and he was pretty good at it.

Jack came up to Lúcio's room, knocking on the door before opening up. Sure enough, Lúcio was fast asleep in his bed, his thick dreadlocks spread out over the pillow. Jack couldn't help but smile at little before walking over to the bedside and lightly shaking Lúcio's shoulder.

"Hey, rise and shine."

Lúcio mumbled something, and groggily opened his eyes.

"Huh.. oh, morning dad." he said tiredly.

"Morning. Now hurry up and get ready, first day of school remember?"

"Oh.. oh yeah." Lúcio sat up in bed, yawning and stretching as he got up.

"I'm gonna go wake up your sisters, you can go ahead downstairs once you're ready. Once everyone's up I'll start making breakfast."

' _Okay_ _, now Lena & Mei_ _._ '

Lena, 14 years old, was a  _very_ energetic and outgoing girl. Jack fondly remembers that on the day they brought them to their new home, Lena was running all over the house, zipping and zooming all over, looking at every little thing in the large house. It was strange, that girl never seemed to run out of energy. She was also quite the daredevil, always willing to try out new things no matter what, oftentimes not quite paying attention to any potential risks involved.

Mei, on the other hand, was much more reserved. She had a... difficult, childhood before the orphanage to say the least. Unfortunately, this had a negative effect on her self-esteem. For the first month or so, Mei had been pretty shy around her family members. But with patience and care, Jack and Angela were able to get Mei to come out of her shell to her family, at least. Now at the age of 15, she still had some social issues, mostly just being too shy to talk to many people. But, her siblings were always there for her when Jack and Angela couldn't, so she had been doing a lot better lately.

"G _i_ _rls_ , time to get up." He said in a mock sing-song voice as he opened up the door to their bedroom. Lena woke up pretty quickly, as usual, while Mei kind of yawned and rubbed her eyes, while sluggishly looking over at her dad.

"It's a big day, you two. It's your first day back to school-"

"And my first day of high school!" Lena bounced up from her bedsheets on the top bunk, almost hitting her head on the ceiling.

"Yep, now you two need to get ready to go. I still need to go get Hana up, and once everyone's downstairs I'll get breakfast ready."

Tracer excitedly slid down the ladder and ran to the closet as Jack walked out, while Mei was just getting off the bed.

' _Alright, now let's get Hana_ _._ '

Hana was the youngest of the four, at 12 years old. Probably her most noticeable trait was that she was  _completely_ obsessed with the world of video games. Sure, pretty much all kids liked to, but Hana  _loved_ to. She was a bit antisocial, but more because of the fact that she was focusing more on her gaming life than she was on her social life. It wasn't very healthy for someone her age, though. Luckily, over the course of the summer Jack and Angela had managed to get Hana off her electronics and participate in more family outings, so there was still hope that she would be able to make more friends this school year.

He peeked inside the door to Hana's room. Looking inside, he saw Hana fast asleep in bed, her tablet laying against her. Jack just chuckled and shook his head before going over to wake her up.

"Hana," he said softly as he gently shook her shoulder "time to get up."

Hana grumbled a little bit, her eyes slowly opening as they adjusted to the bright light.

"Morning daddy." She said groggily as she looked up at Jack.

"Good morning. So, how late were up playing on your tablet?"

"Um... kinda past my bedtime?" she said, pulling the covers up over her face.

Jack chuckled slightly before pulling the covers back.

"Hey, I'm not mad at you or anything. Just, be sure you don't do this again, especially not on a school night okay?"

"Okay, I won't"

"Good," Jack said as he ruffled Hana's hair, "now hurry up and get ready, daddy's going to go start breakfast up while you're all getting ready."

 

* * *

 

 "Alright kids, dig in!" Jack said as he placed a large plate of blueberry pancakes in the center of the table and a smaller plate of bacon next to it. Lúcio had already grabbed a fruit bowl and the syrup beforehand, being the helpful young soul he was. As the kids and Jack all sat down and begun to take their share of food, Angela came out into the dining room, sitting down to join them as they all greeted her.

"Well honey, I must say these are great." Angela said.

"Seriously dad, how did you get so good at cooking?" Lena piped up, her cheeks stuffed with pancake.

"First off, don't talk while you eat, you'll choke on your food. Secondly, I guess it's really just in my blood."

Suddenly, Jack felt something brush up against him under the table.

"Oh right! Sorry Bastion, almost forgot to give you your breakfast too pal." He said as he got up and headed over to the cupboard to grab the bag of dog food, the grey Pit Bull following him the whole way from the cupboard and back to the dining room, where he chowed down on his breakfast as Jack poured it in the bowl.

As they were all finishing up their breakfast, Angela's watch started beeping, signaling that she had to leave.

"Oh, looks like I have to fly. Have fun at school today!" Angela said cheerfully, going around and giving all four of her kids a kiss on the head, and giving her husband a quick kiss on the lips before heading off to the hospital.

"Okay kids, once you get finished eating we're gonna do a bit of a roll call."

 

* * *

 

"-and last but not least, you all have your packed lunches?"

"Yes sir." All four of them said at practically the same time.

"Alright, and that seems to be everything. So, make sure you don't leave anything behind and we'll be off."

One by one, all of the kids got into the white minivan, while Jack got into the driver's seat.

"Alright, everyone have their seatbelts on?"

The kids all buckled up and nodded.

"Alright, let's get going then team!" He said as he backed up out of the driveway and headed off towards the school.

"Oh my gosh, I'm officially a high schooler!" Lena nearly squeeled in excitement.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Lúcio and Mei, you two need to help out Lena while she's getting used to the school. I don't want to hear that she was getting lost, alright?"

"Yeah. Don't worry sis, Mei and I have got your back." Lúcio said.

 "Oo! Oo! I wonder if we'll be in any classes together??"

"Sorry Lena, but all the classes are separated by grade." Mei said.

"Aww, really? Why wasn't it like that in middle school?"

"I heard it was some new rule they came up with over the summer." Jack said.

"Oh... aw man! You're all gonna be in the same school and I'm gonna be on my own." Hana pouted.

"What about Alejandra and Timmy? They're your friends, right?" Mei asked Hana.

"Well yeah, but it's gonna suck not being with one of you..."

"Aww, you're gonna make me sad." Lena whined.

"And for the record, I'm going to miss you too, lil' sis. It was fun being in the same school as you."

"Alrighty kids, we're here!" Jack said, parking the car on the curb before turning back to look at his children.

"So, all of you be on your best behavior, have fun, I'll be out here to pick you all up afterschool, and I love you all."

Everyone said some variation of "Bye, I love you too." and got out of the car, the three older kids heading towards the high school building while Hana caught up with one of her friends before they walked off towards the conjoining middle school campus.

Jack watched them until they were out of sight, and then began his journey back home.

Now, there was only one issue on his mind... how was he going to pass the time until he went to pick up the kids?

"Maybe I can invite Ana and Torbjörn over for lunch and cards or something..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is, this idea that has been gnawing away at me for the past few days that I haven't been able to get around to writing. First off, don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other story. I'll write another chapter (or two, hehe) for this and then I've got a few ideas for my main story, and then I'll be alternating between the two. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this, let me know what you think and I'll see all you peeps next time :D


	2. Back to School

"Dang, this place is  _HUGE_." Lena yelled out as she stood out in the central hall, earning her several confused stares from other passing students.

"I mean, just look at it all!" Lena was about to go running off, and probably would have run over several students if Lúcio hadn't grabbed her shoulders first.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, but you've gotta chill out. Running over everyone probably won't be good for your first impression."

"I guess not..." Lena pouted slightly before Lúcio let go of her once he was sure she wouldn't go flying forward when he let her go.

 "So Lena, do you remember who your homeroom teacher is?" Mei asked.

"Um, no hang on a sec." Lena said as she opened up her phone, looking through the email before she found the one from the school.

"It says my advisor is Mr. Armstrong, any idea who he is?"

"Who- ohhh Mr. Winston! Yeah I'll show you where he is, he's a pretty cool guy." Lúcio said.

"Phew, for a second I was thinking I was going to be stuck with some grumpy teach-"

"Lena!!" the three siblings heard the familiar voice of their friend Fareeha Amari, better known by her friends as Pharah, from behind them.

"Pharah!" Lena ran up to her friend, the two of them greeting by pulling each other into a tight hug and jumping around in a circle while screeching like, well, two excited teenage girls.

Pharah had been close friends with the Morrison kids, especially Lena, ever since they had been adopted. Her mother, Ana, and their parents were close friends, so Pharah had met them within a couple weeks of coming to their new home. She was 16, a couple months older than Mei, and had a very fit and toned body compared to most girls her age.

"Dude, I can't believe I forgot you were gonna be here this year! So how do you feel about high school?"

"Pretty freaking pumped! Oh my gosh I missed youuu." Lena says as she hugs Pharah even tighter.

"But we just saw each other last week." Pharah says, managing to wiggle Lena off her.

"I meant being in school together, and don't even say 'it was only one year' or something."

"Okay, I won't. Oh, and don't think that I forgot about you two." She said, going up to Mei and Lúcio a hug as well.

 Suddenly, an electronic ring came filled the hallways, signaling that all students needed to get to their classes in 10 minutes.

"Oh, we better get going. I'll see you at break Lena! C'mon Mei, I think we're in the same class." Pharah said, walking ahead.

"Bye guys." Mei said as the other two said sometime along the lines of "See you later sis" as she followed after Pharah.

"Alright, need me to walk you to Mister Winston's class or do you think I can just tell you where and you'll be fine?"

"Um, I'd rather you show me, might help me remember where better."

"Yeah, good idea. I don't want you going off and getting distracted by other stuff."

"Hey, I don't have it  _that_ bad." Lena pouted as Lúcio snickered.

"Whatever you say, sis."

 

* * *

 

"And, here we are." Lúcio said as they approached the door with a sign reading 'Mr. Armstrong' on the front.

 "Okay, cya bro~" she said, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Ergh, you too sis." Lúcio said, his breath restricted until Lena let him out of her death grip. He gave her a couple affectionate pats on the back before waving goodbye as he headed off to his homeroom.

Lena stepped into the room. It seemed that all of the other students had arrived ahead of time, as the only desk left open was the one on the front row corner, window side. She took her seat, feeling a bit nervous as almost everyone in the class turned their attention towards her as she walked across the room. Looking around at the posters on the wall and the model skeleton next to the teacher's desk, it was easy to see that Mr. Armstrong was a science teacher. Sitting next to her was a dark-skinned girl with long, black hair and white-rimmed sunglasses with cyan lenses. She seemed to be carefully organizing her writing utensils, almost obsessively.

"Hey, uh, what're you doing?"

"Keeping order." she said very simply.

 "Oh, okay. You say that like it's really important."

"That's because it  _is_  really important."

' _She seems kinda weird... but cool too._ '

Suddenly, the door opened up and a tall, bulky man with dark skin and rough looking black hair that went down into a beard walked in and came up to the front of the class.

"Sorry I'm a bit late class everyone, my cat was sick and I-"

The ringing of the tardy bell interrupted the teacher.

"Oh, guess I wasn't late after all. So, my name is Mr. Armstrong, but you can all just call me Mr. Winston. So, as your advisor, you will come here before your first class and after your last class. In the morning advisor time, right now, you'll have time to make sure you've got everything you need for the day. In the afternoon, advisor time will be used to pack up and make sure you have everything you need for any homework. If you finish with those, you can just use the rest of the time to sit and talk with your friends. So... go ahead." he concluded with a smile as he sat down behind his desk and started working on his computer.

' _Well he seems pretty nice._ ' she thought, looking back over at the girl who was still obsessing over her pencil pouch.

"So, what's your name?"

The girl seemingly ignored her for a few moments, Lena was about to ask again before she responded.

"It's Satya."

"Oh, well I'm Lena. Is this your first year here or-"

"I'm trying to focus right now, I don't want you to be distracting me."

' _Well that was pretty rude._ ' She thought, about to say something before Satya spoke up.

"Though if you wish to talk to me, we can do so at recess or lunch."

"Oh, okay, no problem!"

' _Yea, I should probably focus on getting ready too._ ' she thought.

Fifteen minutes of organizing her supplies and talking with some friends later, the electronic bell rang through the loud speakers, signaling that it was time for 1st period. Lena made her way out of the classroom, excited to see what the day had in store for her.

 

* * *

 

The bell rung out, signaling the end for 4th period and the start of the recess period. Mei made her way out of her Geometry class, heading off to find the water fountain. The subject wasn't really as interesting as Algebra to her, but Mrs. Finley was a pretty good at keeping the class engaged and on-task, so it wasn't that bad.

Walking down the hall a little bit, she came up to the water fountains. She bended down and started sipping up the cold water, but was then distracted by the sound of snickering across from her. Sure enough, there were two boys standing a few feet away from her, one was skinny with spiky, dirty blond hair and the other was tall and, *ahem*, very rounded with his white-dyed hair pulled back in a ponytail. However, the two seemed to be focusing on Mei in particular as they quietly laughed.

"Um, can I help you with something?"

"Hm? Nah mate," the shorter one said as he approached her, "just thought that your choice of clothin' was funny."

' _Well, I guess it is strange to wear a jacket like this in 70 degree weather._ '

"I mean, you're not doin' a good job at hidin' it, it's pretty obvious that you're quite fat mate." he spat out, chuckling to himself a little.

Mei just blushed and looked at the ground. She couldn't imagine why this random guy would just say something so rude to her for no good reas-

"Alroight, scoot over!" the blond boy said as he pushed Mei out of the way, causing her to drop her bag on the ground and spill her books all over the floor. It was strange though, he was acting less like a bully and more like a roughhousing little kid that time. He and his friend not only drank from the fountains, but started splashing water at each other, consequently splashing Mei with water as well before she could even try and get her stuff. Her face was flushed red, not just with embarrassment, but with anger as well. She was about to say something, but another voice spoke up first.

"I don't think y'all should be treating ladies like that, Jamie."

All three of them looked over to where the voice came from. Leaning up against the locker was a boy with messy brown hair and stubble. He was wearing a red plaid shirt, dirty blue jeans, leather boots and, oddly enough, a cowboy-esque hat that he had pointed downwards. As he got up off the locker to face them, he propped his hat up to get a good look at the scene.

"G'day McCree! Me 'n Mako 'ere were just having a nice drink is all."

"Mhm, mhm, yeah. What 'bout the little lady right there?"

The blond boy, Jamie, turned around and looked at Mei, who was splashed with water and clearly angry.

"If ya ask me, I think y'all owe her an apology."

 "Bah, it's just a lil' bit of water, and she can just get 'er stuff and leave if she doesn't wanna deal with us."

"What, you buttin' in just so you can show off for the sheila?" the taller one, apparently Mako, said.

"Well, guess someone's gotta show off 'round here. I mean, y'all aren't a very pleasant sight to behold."

"I'm gonna rip ya tongue out ya little-" Mako exclaimed before Jamie put his hand up.

"Tryin' ta challenge us, huh jackaroo?"

McCree did not say anything in response. He just chuckled and looked up at a clock higher up on the wall.

' _11:59 and 46 seconds._ ' he thought.

He then turned his back and took a few steps away from them. He then reached his hands behind him, grabbing two soda cans out of his bag.

"The 'ell are ya doin'? Runnin' away?"

"Nah, I'm not. I just couldn't help but notice..."

_6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-_

" **It's hiiigh noon."** he said, in a much deeper tone than before.

"Draw!" he said loudly as, all in one motion, he spun around, pointed the soda cans at the two bullies, and flipped the tabs, causing two fountains of the carbonated beverage to spray all over the two boys. Mako tried to charge at McCree, only to slip in the soda all over the floor. Despite being in the same predicament, Jamie started laughing at Mako as he was sprawled out on the floor. Mako then responded by getting up and angrily glaring down at Jamie.

"Oh boy." he said quietly as he started yelling and running away down the hall, his angry friend following after him.

Mei then started to scramble around on the floor, trying to pick up all her books while still on all fours.

"Y'alright, missy?" she heard the voice of the boy who had 'saved' her. She looked up and there he was, empty soda cans still in hand as he stood over her.

"Um, y-yeah I'm fine."

"Here, lemme help ya with that." he said, bending over to help her clean up the supplies.

"Thanks..." she said softly, trailing off as she tried to think of what his name was.

"Jesse, Jesse McCree. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Mei." She said, standing up as she took the supplies Jesse had picked up for her and put them in her bag.

"So, any idea why those guys were messing with ya?"

"No, I really don't know why they would do that, I-I never even said anything to them, I don't-"

Mei started screaming internally when Jesse put his hand on her shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Now listen here Mei, if yer ever having trouble with those two gumps again, don't hesitate to get me. Ya hear?"

Mei just nodded in response, hoping that her face wasn't as red as it felt.

"Good. You want me to walk ya outside, just so those two don't mess with ya anymore?"

"A-actually, yeah. Yeah I'd like that."

With that the two walked on to the outside area where recess was normally held, McCree keeping a close eye out for those two rascals.

 

* * *

 

Lúcio cheered as his teammate, Genji, scored yet another goal for their. It was a bit unfair, as the other team, consisting of Hanzo, Aleksandra, and Zenyatta, outnumbered their team by one, and Jesse was nowhere to be seen. Still, Lúcio and Genji still managed to keep an even set with the other team.

Genji and Hanzo were brothers. They had moved into town during the summer, and Lúcio had been able to befriend Genji in that amount of time. Genji was about the same age as Mei, having spiky sea-green hair along with a slender yet well-toned physique. Hanzo was Lúcio's age, had long, black hair that almost reached his shoulders and, while he was taller, he had an overall similar physique to his brother.

Aleksandra was both the tallest and probably the strongest girl in the school, easily identified by her hulking figure and her bright pink hair. A senior this year, she was the star captain of the girl's football team. Really, she an all-around jock, just not the jerky stereotypical kind.

Zenyatta was a 9th grader, about Lena's age, who had a shaven head and a frail-looking build, making him look weaker than he really was. His family was deeply Buddhist, and he would often spend his time meditating or engaging in peaceful pastimes, but he didn't hesitate in doing activities such as the game of soccer he was currently a part of.

"Oh there's Jesse!" Genji called out. Lúcio looked up and,sure enough, Jesse was walking out into the schoolyard... with his sister?

He watched as Jesse waved a quick goodbye to Mei as he came jogging towards them.

"Sorry to keep y'all waiting. Got caught up dealing some swift justice."

"Yeah yeah cowboy," Lúcio said with a laugh, going over and flipping Jesse's hat off his head, "so, you talking with my sister, huh?"

"Eh, little bit. The two junkboys were messing with her, she was lucky ol' Jesse McCree happened to be there."

"Well, guess I owe you one for that, then." Lúcio said.

"Yeah yeah, we got it. You've got the hots for his sister, now c'mon let's play." Genji said teasingly.

"Well Genji, call me crazy, but I swear that whenever you came over, your eyes would drift to a certain sister of mine." Lúcio said with a grin.

"Um, w-what?" Genji said, trying to act confused and only doing a kinda good job at it.

"You know, spiky hair, lots of energy,  _orange bikini..._ " he said smugly. Meanwhile, Jesse looked like he was about to burst out laughing.

"Wh-what does that have to do wit-"

"What is the holdup? Come on, let us continue the game!" Zarya called out to them from across the field.

"Yea, just a second!" Lúcio called back.

"Alright sister lovers," he said, slapping them both on the back simultaneously, "let's break this game  _down_."

 

* * Meanwhile * *

 

 "Are you kidding me?"

"Disgusting."

"I'm gonna beat the crap out of them!"

Mei had just told Lena, Pharah, and a new girl named Satya about her little incident at the water fountain.

"So yeah, then this guy, Jesse, comes up and he just sprays them with soda. They go running off, and then he helps me get my stuff up, a-and he walked me out here, just to make sure those two didn't mess with me."

"Aww, what a charmer~." Lena cooed, causing her and Pharah to giggle and Satya to smirk as Mei turned bright red.

"Um, I-I think he was just trying to be helpful was all."

"But him walking you out here? No way, he's totally into you." Pharah smirked.

"I d-don't think it's like  _that_ , really." Mei nervously laughed, cheeks still flushed red.

"Well, maybe you're right. But, he is pretty cute~." Lena chuckled.

"As cute as grass-head?" Pharah smirked. Now it was Lena's turn to flush up red.

"I guess so." Lena managed to keep her blush down, passing off the obvious tease from Pharah.

"Yeah, nice hiding the blush. It's pretty obvious that you like hi-"

"Shut up!" Lena yelled as she playfully threw a twig at Pharah, which she dodged with ease as it flew off somewhere else.

"You shouldn't throw things like that. You'll really hurt someone." Satya said, pulling out her Architecture textbook and skimming through the pages.

"Aw come on, she dodged it. Besides, what's a little twig to the  **mighty** Pharah?" Lena said, Pharah proudly flexing in response.

"*Ahem*"

The four of them all turned their direction towards the sound. Standing next to the picnic table they were at was a rather tall, lean girl wearing a purple dress shirt, black pants, and had long, black hair tied back into a ponytail. But, her most apparent feature was that her skin was very pale, almost blueish in color. Also, in her hand was the very stick that Lena had thrown a few minutes prior.

"Um, yes?" Mei asked, a bit unnerved by the older girl's domineering presence.

"I believe zis is yours. Who threw it?" she said in a monotone voice, her voice having a very apparent French accent.

"Um, that would be m-" Lena started before the girl slammed her hand down on the table, glaring daggers at Lena.

"What were you thinking,  _imbécile_??" she yelled, her voice still monotone yet filled with rage.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean it-"

"You're sorry?? You didn't  _mean_ it? Ugh, zen why did you do it??"

"I wasn't trying t-to hit you-"

Lena was met with the stick hitting her forehead, leaving a small scratch where it hit. Then, the girl turned around and stomped back to wherever she came from.

"What a bitch." Lena muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, that's  _Amélie Lacroix_. She's one of those snoody rich girls, a real jerk really." Pharah said.

"It's best if you just stay out of her way. If you don't mess with her, she won't mess with you." Mei said.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"What was Ms. Lacroix so upset about?" a deep, male voice came from behind them.

That voice belonged to Gabriel Reyes, the high school's Spanish teacher and coach for the football team. He had a reputation for being, not really mean or anything, but definitely grumpy.

"Oh, Mr. Reyes. Well, y-you see-" Mei stuttered out, a bit nervous about the situation

"It was nothing. Lena just threw a stick and she got all upset about it." Pharah said.

"I see..."

"Seriously Gabe, it's nothing to worry about." Pharah suddenly said, the other three girls surprised by her use of Mr. Reyes name.

"I'd prefer it if you called me a more respectful name, Ms. Amari."

"Aw come on. I call you Gabe at home, why can't I call you Gabe here?"

"Home is..different. I think you should be a bit more respectful towards me here, young lady."

Pharah just pouted and stared off in the other direction.

"Well, as long as there's nothing else going on. I guess I'll be on my way then." Mr. Reyes said as he walked off.

"Yeesh, you were right, he really is a grump." Lena said.

"Yeah, but that's just Gabe. He's a total puppy dog around my mom, though." Pharah smirked, causing the other three girls to giggle.

"Mr. Reyes was right though, Fareeha. You should treat him like a teacher here, even if you do know him outside of school."

"Yea, guess you're right Satya. Also, you can just call me Pharah."

"Oh, okay Pharah." Satya said with a smile.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the school day passed by steadily. Since it had been the first day, most of the classtime was spent basically going over the subject and what they would be doing over the year. Also, homework hadn't been given out, and probably wouldn't be given out for the next few days as they went over the b. Eventually, 3:30 rolled around, and the dismissal bell rang out

The three siblings met up outside of the front doors of the high school, before walking out to meet up with Hana. Somehow, she had beaten her other siblings outside and was already standing out on the sidewalk with Jack.

"Hey kids, over here!" Jack called out.

"Coming!" Lena yelled out as her and Lúcio started jogging towards the car. However, Mei grabbed Lena by the shoulder before she could run off.

"Hey uh, Lena. Can we not tell Dad about, you know... today? I don't want him to make a big fuss over anything."

"Oh okay, I've got your back sis." Lena said, pulling Mei into a quick hug before they headed off towards the rest of their family.

"So kids, how was your first day back to school?" Jack asked as they all got in the car.

"It was great!" Lena exclaimed, the other three saying something along those lines, just not as loud and energetic.

"Well that's good to hear. So, ice cream sound good?" Jack said.

The kids all happily accepted the offer as their Jack drove them all to the local ice cream shop, a much-needed treat after the late-summer heat of their first day at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap this was a long one. Just to let you know, all the other chapters are most likely not going to be this long. This was kind of an introduction chapter, just to set up the other characters in the story. There's still a few more that'll be introduced later on, but a majority of the characters have been at least introduced at this point. Anyways, hope you all enjoy this (took me way to long to write, lol), and I'll see you all next time!


	3. How We Met

Angela pulled the thermometer out of Hana's mouth, grimacing at the temperate. When Jack had come to get her up, Hana had been coughing and her nose and eyes looked irritated. Being the doctor-mother combo that she was, Angela immediately went up to check over Hana.

' _Coughing, runny nose, irritated eyes, scratchy throat, fever of 99.8 degrees,_ ' she thought over, ' _yep, looks like a common cold.'_

"Well Hana, seems to me like you have a cold."

Hana just groans in response, pulling the blanket up to shield her eyes from the window. Noticing this immediately, Angela gets up and pulls the curtains over the windows.

"There, better?" she says as she returns to her daughter's bedside.

"Yeah, thanks." Hana says in a hoarse voice.

"Good. Now you stay right here, I'll be back in a minute." Angela said, making her way out of Hana's room and downstairs. Jack was already getting the other kids ready for school as she entered the living room.

"Hi mom, is Hana okay?" Lena asked.

"Oh she's fine, just a little cold is all. She'll be okay in a day or two."

"Aww, poor thing." Mei said.

"Hope she gets better." Lúcio said in an optimistic tone.

"You think she'll be okay on her own until I get back?" Jack said.

"I don't have to go in until later today, remember?"

"Oh right, Thursday. Well, guess we don't have to wait on her then. Alright let's get going." Jack said as he and the kids started walking out to the garage.

"Oh, honey wait!" Angela called out as she walked over to Jack.

"You kids go ahead and get in the car, I'll see what your mom needs." He said, the three teens nodding their heads as they went out into the garage.

"Since you're going to be out, can you grab some cough medicine for Hana? Maybe get those bubblegum cough drops she likes."

"Yeah no problem. I'll go ahead and swing by the grocery store while I'm at it. I'll be back before you go." he said, beginning to turn around before Angela grabbed his shoulder.

"Honey, I think you're forgetting something~" she said.

"Hm.. oh yeah, how could I forget?" he said with a chuckled as he turned around, giving his wife a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Love you." Angela said as they parted.

"Love you too, see you in a while." Jack said before turning around and hurrying out to the car.

With that, Angela went into the kitchen to gather up a few simple remedies to bring to her ailing daughter.

 

* * *

 

Angela slowly opened the door to Hana's room, holding a small tin tray with a couple slices of toast and a glass of orange juice on it. Looking in, she saw Hana huddled up under the blankets, but still awake.

"Sweetie? I brought you some breakfast." Angela said with a smile as she came over to the bedside amd set down the tray on the bedside table.

"Thanks." Hana grumbled as she reached over and grabbed a piece of toast, lightly munching on it.

"Well, if you need anything else don't hesitate to holler for me." Angela said as she walked towards the door.

"Hey wait." Hana said before her mom got out the door.

"It's kinda boring, not having anyone to talk to. You don't mind staying, right?"

"Oh, no not at all sweetie." Angela said, grabbing the chair at Hana's desk and pulling it up to the bedside.

"Hm... hey, I've got an idea, How about I tell you a story." she said with a gentle smile.

"Oh, okay. Sounds good." Hana said, still munching on her slice of toast.

"So, what do you want to hear?" Angela asked.

"How about.... tell me how you and Daddy met."

"Really? I swear I've told you that one before."

"Well maybe I wanna hear it again." Hana said, the corners of her mouth curling up in a smug smile.

"Well, alright then. Get cozy, this is going to be a long one. Now, where do I begin..."

 

* * * Kuwait, February 25th 1991 * * *

 

" _Mein Gott,_  you really took a beating out there." Dr. Zeigler said to her patient as she finished bandaging a gunshot wound on his side.

"Yeah, enemy really got the jump on us." the soldier said, wincing as she began disinfecting the cuts on his arm.

"So how long have you been in the army?" Dr. Zeigler asked, striking up a conversation to try and distract her patient from the pain.

"Quite a while, almost twenty years now. Probably going to retire in a few months, actually."

"Must feel good to be getting out of this, hm?"

"It'll be bittersweet, but yeah. Hopefully I'll live to see that day." the soldier jokes.

"Well, seeing that you've made it this far, I think you'll handle yourself just fine out there soldier."

"Please, you can call me Jack."

"Jack hm? Well, I think you'll be fine out there."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. You can never be sure though, and who knows how long this'll last."

"Hopefully not too long. I won't be here for the soldiers in a couple months, afterall." Dr. Ziegler spoke as she bandaged up his arm.

"Oh really? Why not?"

"Well, I'm really just a volunteer, you know. In two months I'm going to be moving to the United States and try to make a living off this."

"Yep, good ol' USA. Also, you're pretty good for a volunteer, Doctor."

"Why thank you Jack. Aaand you should be good to go, for now at least. Another doctor should attend to you later, since I'll be busy with other patients."

"Alright, thanks doc." the soldier smiled at Dr. Ziegler as she left, getting ready to attend to other casualties.

 

* * * New York City, USA, September 22nd 1991 * * *

 

Angela couldn't help but notice the familiar face through the window of the restaurant, a mediocre Italian place. She looked back again, wondering if she was just seeing things, or if it was someone different. But, sure enough, there was that man, Jack, sitting at a booth, seemingly waiting for someone to take his order. She never did see him again after she had aided him that once, never even heard if he made it out okay. She didn't really have anywhere to be at the moment, so she decided it might be nice to go say hi to him, catch up a little bit.

Angela stepped into the restaurant, the air inside smelling of cheese, tomatoes, and fresh dough. It was a modest little place, the rough brick walls and dull wooden floors gave the whole place a simplistic, yet comforting feel. She made her way over to where Jack was sitting. He didn't notice her at first, but Angela managed to catch his attention by clearing her throat.

"Can I help you?" he said.

"Oh, nothing really. I just couldn't help but recognize you."

"Really? Well uh, I'm not sure if I recognize you myself."

"You do not remember? Back in February, in Kuwait."

"Wait... oh wait, wait! Doctor Ziegler?" Jack said, not quite sure if he was saying that right.

"Mhm, and you're Jack, right?" Angela said, sitting down on the other side of the booth.

"Yeah, Jack Morrison. Wow doc, it's great to see you again." he said, smiling.

"I'm not on duty right now, you can call me Angela."

A waiter then came up, greeting them as she were handed them two menus. They ordered their drinks and both agreed on a plain cheese pizza, giving the waiter their menus as she headed off. While they waited, the two talked about what they had been doing over the past months.

Angela, like she had mentioned all those months ago, had managed to get a job as a surgeon. Over the past few months, she had risen up through the ranks as one of the best surgeons in the city, and was highly revered by her colleagues.

Jack, on the other hand, had been working part-time as a security guard for the past four months. True, he didn't really have to work because of his pension, but just sitting at home doing nothing all day wasn't really Jack's style. He preferred taking the morning shift, but was willing to come in at anytime of day if needed. That was Jack's thing, he was always there to help and wanted to look out for others.

The two spent the next hour and a half or so just chatting about random topics, sharing humorous stories, and eating their pizza. Eventually, they decided that they should part ways for the night. After they had paid the check, the two got up and walked outside into the warm evening air.

"I must say Jack, it was great seeing you again." Angela smiled up at him.

"Yeah, it really was. Maybe, if you're interested that is, we could do this more often?"

Angela giggled, putting the tips of her fingers up to her lips in a gesture of flattery and amusement as she did.

"I'd really like that, actually. But, we're probably going to need each other's numbers, so that we can arrange a time later on."

They then exchanged their numbers and gave each other a quick, platonic hug as they said their goodbyes. Jack went out to the side of the road to catch a cab while Angela began walking down the street, heading towards her apartment building. As she walked, she couldn't help but think of Jack, and how much she was looking forward to seeing him again.

 

* * * Overview, Montana, USA, September 5th 2016 * * *

 

"-and  _that_ , is the story of how I met your father." Angela finished her story, smiling as she came out of a somewhat daydream-like state. The first thing she picked up on as she finished talking was the soft snoring coming from right in front of her. Looking down, she couldn't help but smile at Hana sleeping soundly. Sometime while she was telling the story, Bastion had come in and was curled up next to the chair.

Slowly getting up, Angela placed a quick little kiss on Hana's forehead. She lightly rubbed Bastion on the head, his lack of any significant reaction suggested that he was staying put. Angela grabbed the now empty food tray as she slowly tiptoed out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her as not to wake up her ailing little angel. As she walked out, she couldn't help but think of that night at the Italian restaurant, fondly remembering her first date with her dear husband.


End file.
